Phoenix Update for February 2010

Since I’m getting great comments on these monthly updates for the Greater Phoenix Area, I’m going to continue passing them on.

RESORT NEWS

The Westin Kierland Resort introduces specialty label beer: “Piper Ale.” As another unique element in The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa’s well-known “Scottish Experiences,” the Resort is proud to introduce their very own brew: “Piper Ale.” Available at Waltz & Weiser, The Saloon, guests can enjoy a glass while listening to the “Scottish Pipes at Sunset Series.”

Hotel Valley Ho is offering special rates for all baseball lovers during the spring training season. The Valley Ho has been a resting stop for baseball players, including Ted Williams and Bob Feller, and continues to welcome ball players and fans alike. Hotel Valley Ho is less than a mile from Scottsdale Stadium, the venue for the San Francisco Giants. The Hotel is also located less than two miles from the Phoenix Municipal stadium, the spring training home to the Oakland A’s.

The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa offers the perfect desert hideaway for a family vacation or getaway for baseball Spring Training season. The new upgrades and recently reduced rates make the spacious “Sports Villas” the ideal homes-away-from-home.

W Scottsdale Hotel is enhancing this thriving entertainment district with its new live music series, Living Room Live. The series offers visitors and hotel guests alike a new hot spot to get cozy and lounge with friends while listening to sweet sounds every Friday night. Each week a different musician from around the country takes the stage in the Living Room of W Scottsdale creating the perfect ambiance to wind down from the week.

SPAS

The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa announces a new partnership with the Vaughn Center to provide spa-goers with the integrative tools needed to get “mind fit.” Founded by former NFL player, Damian Vaughn, the Vaughn Center seeks to heal, transform and realize one’s true, full potential through the integration of body, mind and soul. This is the first time Damian has ventured out into a partnership program of this kind and it just another step in Agave, The Arizona Spa’s focus on the overall wellness of guests through wellness programs and spa journeys.

The Centre for Well-Being at The Phoenician celebrates the New Year – and a new you — with a trio of specially designed seasonal spa treatments. At spectacular rates, the treatments include On the Go Facial Glow, Indulgence Wrap & Massage and the Personal Care Package.

The Spa at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale presents a “mineral oasis.” The spa is unveiling a new menu of facials utilizing the mineral-rich Omorovicza product line. Omorovicza is a unique skincare line that is both effective and naturally based. The line contains botanicals such as jojoba oil, and sage and orange blossom are also incorporated into many of the products. The formulations are harvested from the world’s largest source of healing thermal water in Hungary, and are paraben-free, and produced without petrochemicals, synthetic fragrances and colors.

The Boulders Golden Door Spa‘s sizable organic garden yields an abundance of produce for the luxury resort’s creative dining menus. It also serves as an inspiration for seasonal spa treatments too. Pomegranate, a lush fruit that grows naturally in the drier regions of Arizona in spring, will be used in a revitalizing new spa service.

DINING

Gallo Blanco Café & Bar opened in midtown Phoenix and offers true Latin comfort food with locally sourced ingredients, moderate prices and a rustic urban design. The restaurant makes its digs in Phoenix’s hip Clarendon Hotel, a perfect urban setting for a neighborhood eatery serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night.

Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, which is one of the country’s premier boutique resorts in Scottsdale, is high on recent developments. Pastry Chef Renee Cade has joined its culinary team, leading the charge on a sweet new focus for the resort’s award-winning restaurant, Elements. Element’s renovation was a multi-million dollar project that included a new pastry kitchen, a smoker, intense-heat char broiler, plancha grill and other enviable kitchen gadgets. A new “raw” menu was also created at Elements and it features sustainable delicacies from the sea, as well as a host of locally sourced and organic ingredients on the expanded menu.

The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa brings back the popular otherworldly wine dinner that combines astronomy and astrology, to celebrate the first days of autumn. On Saturday, March 20, 2010, the ‘Dining with the Stars Dinner’ will feature a three-course dinner.

Caffé Boa Bistro is hosting new Simple Sunday Suppers each Sunday night in Tempe and Mesa. Every Sunday, let Chef Payton Curry select a special meal theme based on the freshest meats, cheeses, produce and handmade pasta that day.

RECREATION & GOLF

The Diamondbacks, Cubs, Brewers, White Sox, Indians, Rockies, Royals, Angels, Dodgers, Brewers, Athletics, Padres, Giants, Mariners, Reds, and Rangers will visit the Greater Phoenix area for Cactus League Spring Training in March 2010. Go to one of the many stadiums around the valley to enjoy the great weather in March with a comfortable spot in the grass to root for your team. There could be an opportunity to get up close to your favorite players to get autographs after the game. So, visit and help your team get ready for the season. Games are scheduled every day in March. Tickets start as little as $5 per game. See you at the ballpark!

The Arizona Biltmore‘s new golf packages immerse guests in the acclaimed lifestyle of the historic resort. More than championship golf on a choice of course, the packages combine golf on Adobe, The Links or the Grayhawk courses with the extra amenities of the resort’s new boutique hotel accommodations, dining at the signature restaurants, spa treatments, appetizers and cocktails in an exclusive lounge, and other extras. Twosomes also have a choice of a package for two golfers or a package with a shopping component designed for only one golfer. Chose from several packages.

Arizona Outback Adventures and Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North are teaming up to offer guests the best of both worlds for 2010; Adventure by day and relaxation by night. Experiences offered include hiking on the South Kaibab Trail, hiking along the Salt River and kayaking on the Salt River, and flying north from Phoenix to the South Rim Park to experience rare vistas of the Tonto National Forest, the Red Rocks of Sedona, and past the 12,000-foot Mt. Humphreys. An exciting downhill ride on a high-performance mountain bike on the foothills of the 4,000-foot McDowell Mountains, and hiking on the rigorous McDowell Mountains is also available.

Fountain Hills and Fort McDowell offers visitors an undiscovered gateway to the Sonoran Desert. It is within easy proximity of both wilderness and big-city amenities yet it feels a world apart. Nestled in a valley, the destination is surrounded by panoramic views of rugged mountains and slopes lush with vegetation unique to the Sonaran Desert. To see the desert up close, hikers and mountain bikers can choose from a network of trails at McDowell Mountain Regional Park and McDowell Mountain Preserve both border the communities. Fort McDowell Adventures offers visitors < i>The Yavapai Experience, a cultural heritage tour, scenic horseback trail riding, jeep tours and cowboy cook-outs. Without ever leaving the area, golfers can play at four of the West’s finest golf clubs: We-Ko-Pa, SunRidge Canyon, Desert Canyon and Eagle Mountain.

JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix is offering inclusive vacation packages such as “The Escape.” “The Escape” is an Unlimited Golf Package including a deluxe guest room, unlimited golf for two on 36 holes of championship golf on Faldo and Palmer Signature courses and complimentary use of the driving range all located just steps from your guestroom. This package also provides breakfast for two and lunch or dinner for two, non-alcoholic beverages, and children under 12 eat free all meals at Blue Sage Restaurant. Kids can also play like Nickelodeon stars and experience guest appearances by characters like SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.

ARTS & CULTURE

The Children’s Museum of Phoenix will benefit from several creative improvements thanks to the generosity of a convention bound for Phoenix and its new convention center: the Concrete Décor Show and Decorative Concrete Spring Training in March 2010. In advance of the event, several artisans and trainers are visiting the Children’s Museum to work on colorful concrete artworks that will be showcased during the March event.

Downtown Phoenix Partnership, ASU’s College of Public Programs, City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department, Karuna Village Fair Trade and Radio Phoenix, will be providing local music in the Downtown Civic Space Park on Thursdays from January 28 to April 29 at 11:00am until 1:00pm.

Arizona Science Center is opening a new exhibit called “Face Your Fears When Goose Bumps!” It’s all about the Science of Fear! The Science of Fear explores the universal emotion of fear through fun, interactive challenges where guests can experience fear in a safe environment and discover the science behind their physical and emotional responses.

Phoenix Art Museum is the Exclusive Venue for Ansel Adams: Discoveries. Ansel Adams: Discoveries, offers new insights into the photographer’s greatest works by bringing the unparalleled holding of the Center for Creative Photography’s Ansel Adams archive to light. It features 120 photographs and dozens of rare archival documents and materials.

The best of the Southwest will be celebrated once more when 700 of the country’s successful American Indian artists convene at the upcoming Indian Fair & Market at the Heard Museum. The state’s largest Indian market and one of its most significant cultural events is set for Saturday and Sunday, March 6 & 7, 2010. The fair heads into its 52^nd year, and is a world-acclaimed festival that draws nearly 20,000 visitors. It will features the best American Indian art, along with music and dance performances and a wide array of delectable food to taste

Fred Krakowiak, a leading artist in wildlife, will be the featured guest for an interactive Artist Brunch from 10am until 2pm March 21 at Lon’s at The Hermosa Inn in Paradise Valley. Krakowiak will be available for one-on-one interaction with guests as he demonstrates his artistic techniques. Krakowiak specialized in painting of wildlife from Africa and across the world, capturing them in motion using mediums such as oil on copper and dye on silk.

The 14^th annual Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival will be held Saturday, February 20^th through Thursday, March 4, 2010, at the Congregation Beth Israel in Scottsdale. There will be a total of ten films shown at two geographically spaced venues, the Harkins Chandler Crossroads and the Harkins Camelview 5. There is also going be multiple guest speakers at the festival.